MARION COUNTY, Fla. – Four former Marion County Fire Rescue employees accused in a violent hazing incident at a local fire station have pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and have waived their personal appearances at arraignments that had been scheduled for Tuesday, court records show.
The defendants — firefighter Tate Trauthwein, 19; EMT Edward Kenny III, 22; firefighter/EMT Seth Day, 22; and paramedic Kaylee Bradley, 25 — are contesting allegations that they assaulted and terrorized a 19-year-old firefighter during a November incident at Fire Station 21.
[VIDEO: Marion County Fire Rescue employees arrested after violent hazing incident]
Kenny, Day and Trauthwein each face charges of kidnapping, battery and robbery, while Bradley is charged with robbery and accessory to robbery.
The case stems from a Nov. 16 episode that investigators describe as a “violent hazing” of a firefighter who had been with the agency for nearly a year.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, harassment at the station began with grease being smeared on the victim, apparently tied to demands that he hand over a TikTok video on his phone.
Deputies said the situation escalated when the victim was chased into the parking lot by coworkers. Trauthwein allegedly threw the victim’s boots into nearby woods; when the victim went to retrieve them, investigators say Kenny grabbed him from behind, tackling him to the ground. Kenny and Day then held the victim down while Trauthwein removed the victim’s belt and pulled down his pants, according to the sheriff’s office.
Trauthwein and Bradley are accused of taking the victim’s cell phone and demanding his passcode. When the victim refused, investigators said, Trauthwein whipped him with the belt while Kenny and Day restrained him. The victim’s underwear was pulled down and he was struck again on his bare skin, deputies said.
The sheriff’s office further alleges that one of the accused retrieved a bottle of water and a towel and waterboarded the victim three times as the others held him down. Sheriff Billy Woods has said the kidnapping charge stems from the victim being forcibly dragged through the parking lot from one location to another.
The four were arrested on Nov. 26 and immediately fired from Marion County Fire Rescue.
While the criminal cases proceed, fallout inside the fire department has grown. In December, Marion County Fire Rescue announced that six additional employees — including leadership personnel who were on duty at the time of the incident — had been fired following an internal review.
[BELOW: Marion County Fire Rescue addresses employee arrests]
“It’s disappointing. Absolutely. As the son of a firefighter myself, it is disappointing,” Woods said after the arrests.
Fire Chief James Banta called the conduct a “disturbing violation of everything that this profession stands for,” and County Commissioner Carl Zalak said the county’s responsibility “goes beyond discipline,” pledging to strengthen safeguards to protect employees and the public and to rebuild community trust.